Research in Motion's (News 
- Alert) 2012 is following in a similar path to its 2011. The Blackberry maker's struggles continued on Tuesday when RIM made huge price cuts on its PlayBook tablet line, sending a clear message that it is unable to compete with the likes of Apple (News - Alert), at least not at the same price point with its current technology.
The price cuts are substantial and, quite frankly, a little confusing. RIM is now selling all three tablets – the 16GB, the 32GB and the 64GB – for $299, begging the question: why would anyone buy a model other than the 64GB?
The high-end PlayBook used to cost $699, while the 32GB and 16GB models were priced at $599 and $499, respectively.
Interestingly, the new price point for the 16GB model can almost be looked at as a price increase considering RIM was recently selling the tablet for $199 during a holiday promotion. Not that it really matters though, as no one in their right mind would scoop up anything other than the 64GB if all models cost the same.
The price cuts follow a very disappointing 2011 for RIM, which saw its PlayBook tablet collect dust on the shelves of retailers like Best Buy (News - Alert) after a hot first month. Many consumers – even Blackberry aficionados – held off on purchasing the PlayBook after learning of its below average features, its lack of apps and its inability to offer email integration.
Currently, users need to tether their Blackberry smartphone to their PlayBook to receive emails. Many users hope this is rectified during the software update scheduled for February.
RIM is said to have lost nearly $500 million during its tablet experiment. The company has also suffered through a series of layoffs and seen its smartphone market share, earnings and stock price take significant dips in 2011.
Even though 2011 was known by many as the year of the tablet, very few manufacturers other than Apple have found any success in the space, at least financially.
In a similar manner as RIM, Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert) chopped $100 of its TouchPad tablet after just a month. The company later dropped the price down to just $99 to clear out all remaining inventory and end its foray into the tablet game.
The PlayBook sale is expected to last into early February, at which time RIM will probably jack the price back up when it can offer industry-leading features like email.
Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
